Today in CCA 3/18/16

There were several CCA innovations piloted by the young chefs at Comegys this afternoon.

First was the laminated recipe flowchart. It took an awesome Penn student about 30 minutes to translate a framework that took 7 years to develop into an Illustrator file. It took Campus Copy about 15 minutes to print and laminate the design on a 22×28 inch poster. It was put into use in CCA immediately.

We also piloted two new Instagram activities (@cookingcrewacademy), as well as the Recipe Soliloquy, where a young chef articulates their thoughts about the food they create in CCA.

Here’s a recap of how the day went:

We started by letting the young chefs know that any team’s hats/aprons found on the floor in the storage area would be penalized 5 points. This led to less chaotic and more stoic apron/hat retrieval than usual. For the first time ever, the storage floor was clear. Mission accomplished.

Each team set up their 4-bin systems and cleaned their cooking areas in Kitchen Stadium.

The Black Team had a particularly impressive Recipe Brainstorm. They worked together to come up with a unique dish that combined all the foods they picked in the Ingredient Draft.

It was a sweet potato, broccoli, onion, and mushroom saute with scrambled eggs, pepper, and cheddar cheese. Each vegetable was cooked and plated separately.

The blue team made two dishes. 1 fried onions, spinach, and cabbage. 2 spinach salad with oranges and sesame dressing.

The Recipe Soliloquy didn’t go exactly as planned. Instead of presenting the dish out loud, young chefs researched and wrote detailed descriptions of their dish for their peers to read.

The confidence and skill (aka power) of the young chefs grows every CCA session. So does the deliciousness of the food they create.